EARLY ACCESS: Sign up now for my "Revision, Rewriting, and Re-Visioning" Writing Retreat in Zakynthos, Greece!
June 6-13, 2026!
Hello friends,
I’m writing today to invite you to join me next summer for a unique writing retreat themed around “Revision, Rewriting, and Re-Visioning,” to be held on the Greek island of Zakynthos from June 6-13, 2026! I’m partnering for this retreat with Uptrek, an organization known for successfully putting on artists’ retreats all over Europe. My retreat is limited to just 16 participants, but I wanted to give the first chance to register to subscribers to this newsletter. Registration has just gone live but it hasn’t been posted on social media or anywhere else yet, so if you’re interested, don’t delay!
At this retreat, you’ll work alongside me and an intimate group of fellow writers to analyze your existing manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses (from the level of structure down to individual scenes), plan and begin to execute a revision (proceeding from a fresh outline to guided rewrites of individual scenes or chapters), and prepare for the future submission of your manuscript to editors and agents (including producing loglines, synopses, and query letters). I’ve designed the week’s workshops especially for people who already have a draft of a manuscript (or who are deep in the process of writing a first draft), and for writers of all prose genres, including fiction, memoir, creative nonfiction, and other narrative forms.
In addition to the writing we’ll be doing, it should also be a fantastic group vacation! As I said above, the retreat will be held at a seaside Greek villa on Zakynthos, where our small group will fill our days with workshops, craft lectures, and both guided and unstructured writing time. (There’ll also be time to meet one-on-one with me to talk about your manuscript, if you’d like.) All our meals will be prepared by the venue’s private chef, something I’m personally looking forward to enjoying! We’ll also share two group excursions: one to Zante Town, the island’s capital, and one to the Shipwreck Beach, a stunning location that can apparently only be reached by boat. It should be a great time!
You can find more information about the retreat at Uptrek’s website, including a daily schedule that goes over what will be covered in each day’s workshops. Usually there’s a morning and an afternoon session, so we’ll be getting a lot done! The goal is to send you home with a deeper understanding of your manuscript and a plan for making it the best book it can be. I’m thrilled for this exciting new opportunity to combine travel and writing alongside what I’m sure will be a talented and fun group of writers.
If you have questions about the retreat, please email the friendly team at Uptrek at contact@uptrek.com. They’ll be able to answer anything you want to know about the venue, travel logistics, dietary accommodations, or any other needs you might have. I hope I’ll see some of you in Greece next summer!
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Matt Bell’s novel Appleseed (a New York Times Notable book) was published by HarperCollins in July 2021. His craft book Refuse to Be Done, a guide to novel writing, rewriting, & revision, is out now from Soho Press. He’s also the author of the novels Scrapper and In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, as well as the short story collection A Tree or a Person or a Wall, a non-fiction book about the classic video game Baldur’s Gate II, and several other titles. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Tin House, Conjunctions, Fairy Tale Review, American Short Fiction, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he teaches creative writing at Arizona State University.